Trojans Look to Clinch Rock 'n' Roar Rivalry at UCA

Game 32: Little Rock at Central Arkansas
April 13 
Conway, Ark. • Bear Stadium
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LITTLE ROCK – Fresh off a Sun Belt series win, Little Rock baseball (15-16) will travel to Central Arkansas for the second game of the Rock 'n' Roar Rivalry tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m., at Bear Stadium in Conway.
 
FIRST PITCH

• Little Rock won the first game of the Rock 'n' Roar Rivalry on March 16 by a score of 6-5.
• A win would give the Trojans their second three-game winning streak of the season.
• Little Rock's offense continues to excel with a .300 batting average.
• Ryan Scott is second in the nation in hitting at .472 and leads the nation in hits with 58.
• Scott leads the Sun Belt in seven different offensive categories.
• Scott has safely reached base in 27 consecutive games.
• Dalton Thomas has the third-highest batting average in the Sun Belt at .395, ranking 55th in the nation.
• Thomas' 51 hits are second in the conference behind Scott and rank 22nd in the nation.
• Scott and Thomas have combined for 109 hits, the most for any duo in Division I.
• Little Rock has had at least 10 hits in 17 games this season.
• When outhitting opponent this season, the Trojans are 13-5.
• Hayden Martin ranks fourth in the nation with 10 sacrifice bunts.
• Lefty Cole Townsend (0-0) will make his third start for Little Rock.

 
SCOUTING CENTRAL ARKANSAS
The Bears come home from a three-game road trip at Oregon State where they were swept. UCA has took losses in six of its last seven games with its only win coming against UAPB at home last Tuesday.
 
Logan Preston continues to be the leading force in the Bears' starting lineup with a .320 batting average while also leading the team in hits (32), RBIs (21) and on-base percentage (.444). Not too far behind him is Brandon Montalvo with a .293 batting average.
 
Like the first game of the series, UCA will once again start right-hander Tyler Gray (2-1).  Gray was effective for the Bears as he struck out seven Trojans while giving up four runs on seven hits and walk in 5.0 innings. Gray's last start came last Tuesday against UAPB in which he threw a complete-game shutout.
 
SERIES AGAINST CENTRAL ARKANSAS
While Central Arkansas still holds the all-time series lead at 39-29-1, Little Rock gained some ground with a win in the last outing. The last time Little Rock took two games from Central Arkansas in a season was the historic 2011 season.
 
ON THE MOUND FOR LITTLE ROCK
Making his third start and fourth appearance for the season will be lefty Cole Townsend (0-0). Townsend's previous appearance was in last Friday night's series opener against Georgia State in which he threw five pitches and recorded a strikeout. Townsend's last start came at Oral Roberts on March 6 as he earned the no-decision.
 
OFFENSIVE PROWESS
Little Rock's offense continues its fantastic year at the plate with a .300 batting average, second-best in the Sun Belt. The Trojans rank third in slugging (.410), on-base percentage (.391) and walks (145) while ranking fourth in hits (316), RBIs (190), doubles (56) and total bases (432).
 
The Trojans have been patient hitters too as they rank next to least in the Sun Belt for strikeouts with 206.
 
Little Rock has helped its batting average by getting at least 10 hits in 17 of its 31 games this season and have earned at least seven hits in 29 of the 31. When outhitting opponents this season, Little Rock is 13-5.
 
A WIN AGAINST CENTRAL ARKANSAS WOULD…
…hand Little Rock the season series and give the Trojans two wins over the Bears in the same season for the first time since 2011.
 
GREAT SCOTT!
Ryan Scott continues to knock the cover off the ball as he leads the nation with 58 hits for the season. Scott also has the nation's second-best batting average at .472. Scott ranks in the top 10 nationally for on-base percentage (.554), RBIs (43), slugging (.772) and total bases (95). Scott's proficiency has allowed him to lead the Sun Belt in seven different offensive categories.
 
Scott can break the program's single-season record for hits (86) if he can average just over a hit per game for the rest of the season.
 
A SEASON OF HIS OWN
Dalton Thomas is having a year to remember with the third-best batting average in the conference at .395, which ranks 55th in the nation. Thomas is just behind Scott with 51 hits (22nd in the nation) and 32 RBIs for the season. Thomas had a 21-game hitting streak, the longest of any Trojan since at least 1998.
 
Combined, Thomas and Scott have 109 hits this season, the most for any duo in Division I.
 
GETTING DOWN THE BUNT
With 33 sacrifice bunts this season, Little Rock ranks 17th in the nation and fourth in the Sun Belt. No other Trojan has more sacrifice bunts than Hayden Martin as his 10 rank fourth in the nation and are tied for the most in the Sun Belt.
 
UPCOMING CAREER MILESTONES

• Zach Baker's next hit will be his 25th and his next RBI will be his 20th.
• Jarrid Garcia is three strikeouts away from 70 and 3.2 innings away from 80.
• Nik Gifford is three hits away from 40.
• Kyle Kirk is two hits shy of 70.
• Cameron Knight is two RBIs from his 20th.
• Hayden Martin's next stolen base will be his 15th and is two runs shy of 40.
• Preston Oberling is two strikeouts away from 30.
• Ryan Scott is two runs shy of 90 and three RBIs shy of 80.

 
ON DECK
Fourth-place Little Rock will travel to second-place Texas State for a three-game Sun Belt series beginning on Friday at 6:30 p.m., in San Marcos, Texas.